All Chapters of A Man in Distress: Chapter 41 - Chapter 50

CHAPTER 42 — LianaI didn’t sleep.I lay on Rina’s bed with the diary pressed against my chest, staring at the ceiling where the paint cracked faintly near the corners. I used to lie here with her when we were younger, whispering secrets into the dark, pretending adulthood was something we could outrun.I never imagined I’d be here like this—grieving her in pieces.The house was silent except for the occasional hum of passing cars outside. Evan had gone home after sitting with me for hours, neither of us knowing how to exist in the same space without reopening wounds.But the diary was still here.And it was still unfinished.I turned on the lamp and opened it again, my fingers hesitating before touching the next page.Some days I watch Evan with Maya and feel like an intruder in my own life.My throat tightened.He’s a good father. He tries so hard. But sometimes I see guilt in his eyes—like he’s trying to make up for something he doesn’t know how to name.I swallowed.I don’t think

CHAPTER 44 — LianaI stayed the night.Not in the way that would make the world cruel or suspicious. Not in the way that crossed a line you can never uncross.I stayed because neither of us knew how to be alone with the truth yet.Evan slept on the couch. I slept in the guest room. The diary lay between us on the coffee table like a silent witness, its presence heavier than any accusation.Morning crept in slowly, pale and hesitant, as if even the sun wasn’t sure it was welcome here.I woke before my alarm, my body stiff, my head throbbing with everything I hadn’t said.For a moment—just a moment—I forgot where I was.Then the weight returned.Rina is gone.Maya is hers.Evan is standing too close to a truth neither of us planned to face.I sat up slowly, my feet touching the cold floor.The house was quiet except for the faint sound of movement from the kitchen.

CHAPTER 46 — LianaEthan didn’t disappear.That would’ve been easier.Instead, he stayed exactly where he was—same office, same meetings, same measured professionalism—but the space he left behind felt louder than absence ever could.The next morning, he greeted me like nothing had happened.“Good morning, Liana,” he said evenly as he passed my desk. “Marcus wants the deposition notes by ten.”That was it.No lingering look.No quiet check-in.No warmth threaded beneath the words.Just… distance.I stared at my screen for a full minute after he walked away, the cursor blinking like it was waiting for me to say something I couldn’t.By noon, I realized something worse than heartbreak had settled in.I missed him.Not romantically—not in the way people assume—but in the way you miss gravity when it suddenly stops holding you down.A

CHAPTER 48 — LianaI didn’t sleep.I lay in bed staring at the ceiling while the city breathed outside my window—cars passing, distant sirens, the low hum of a world that kept moving even as mine felt suspended over a cliff.Ethan’s words replayed over and over.I’ll take the fall.The idea lodged in my chest like a splinter I couldn’t dig out. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw him standing in his office, shoulders squared, already bracing for impact. Not dramatic. Not heroic. Just… resolved.And that terrified me more than Marcus ever could.By six in the morning, I gave up pretending to rest.I showered, dressed, and stared at my reflection longer than necessary. I looked the same—composed, professional, controlled—but underneath, everything felt dangerously fragile.I arrived at the firm earlier than usual.Too early.The halls were quiet, lights dimmed, the polished

CHAPTER 50 — LianaTruth doesn’t arrive like a revelation.It arrives like exhaustion.The kind that settles into your bones and whispers that you can’t keep pretending—not to others, not to yourself.Monday morning, I stood in front of my closet for ten minutes, staring at clothes I’d worn a hundred times before, and realized something small but terrifying.I didn’t know who I was dressing for anymore.Not the firm. Not the press. Not Evan. Not Ethan.Just… me.I chose a simple navy dress. No armor. No statement.When I arrived at Delgado & Reyes, the energy felt different. Not hostile. Not warm. Watchful.Marcus was already in his office, door open.That alone felt like a warning.“Liana,” he said. “Come in.”I did.He gestured to the chair this time.Progress, I supposed.“You’ve become very visible,” Marcus said, folding h